Scotts Bluff National Monument

05/28/2026

Jeff McManus is scheduled to present his program Wagons of the Emigrant Trails on Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the wagons on the Oregon Trail Pathway just west of the Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitor Center located at 190276 Old Oregon Trail in Gering, NE.

Join Jeff, a member of the National Stagecoach and Freight Wagon Association, as he describes the essential features of a covered wagon, highlighting key components such as the wagon box, running gear, canvas cover, and braking systems. Visitors will learn how each part played a vital role in protecting supplies and ensuring the wagon’s durability on the trail while also examining how the overall weight of a fully packed wagon influenced the difficulty of travel and the number of oxen required to pull the wagon efficiently across varying terrain.

In the event of inclement weather, the program will be moved inside to the Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitor Center Theater.

Image- A replica Conestoga wagon is being "pulled" by replica oxen in front of Eagle Rock at Scotts Bluff. NPS Photo

05/24/2026

Join us for the first Tuesday evening program of 2026! Steven Rolfsmeier is scheduled to present a Spring Wildflower Walk on Tuesday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. along the trails near the Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitor Center located at 190276 Old Oregon Trail in Gering, NE.

Enjoy blue skies, green grass and wildflowers as we kick off the summer program season. Rolfsmeier, director of the High Plains Herbarium and an instructor at Chadron State College, will lead the group on a short walk on the trails near the monument visitor center, identifying wildflowers and plants along the way. Wear comfortable shoes for this one-hour long walk.

Image- Steven Rolfsmeier leads a plant walk at Scotts Bluff National Monument in 2018. NPS Photo

05/23/2026

Scotts Bluff National Monument has transitioned to Summer Operating Hours through Labor Day weekend.

-Visitor Center: Open from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm daily
-Summit Road: Open from 9:00 am until 5:30 pm daily
-Grounds and Trails: Open sunrise to sunset every day

Image- The early morning bathes the east side of Crown Rock in sunlight. NPS/Eric Grunwald

05/11/2026

Here's a great job opportunity for a commissioned law enforcement ranger at our sister park: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

Make a difference as a law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service! Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is seeking a candidate with a Type I Law Enforcement Commission to serve as the monument's primary law enforcement ranger to enforce applicable federal and state laws and regulations enacted to insure the protection and safe use of National Park Service resources. The candidate selected for this position will serve as the first line, direct supervisor of lesser graded employees in Visitor Resource Protection and Interpretation and Education. For more information about this position, check out the postings on USAJobs:
-General Public: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/865752000
-NPS employees, veterans, military spouses, land and base management: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/865750700

Image- A law enforcement park ranger points towards distant bluffs. NPS Photo

05/04/2026

Make a difference as a law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service! Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is seeking a candidate with a Type I Law Enforcement Commission to serve as the monument's primary law enforcement ranger to enforce applicable federal and state laws and regulations enacted to insure the protection and safe use of National Park Service resources. The candidate selected for this position will serve as the first line, direct supervisor of lesser graded employees in Visitor Resource Protection, and Interpretation and Education, including all 6c law enforcement positions at the park. For more information about this position, check out the postings on USAJobs:
-General Public: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/865752000
-NPS employees, veterans, military spouses, land and base management: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/865750700

Image- A National Park Service law enforcement ranger speaks with a group at Scotts Bluff National Monument. NPS/Christophe Ivins

04/23/2026

The Scotts Bluff Summit Road will be closed until noon on Saturday, April 25th for the annual Spring Up the Bluff running event. Once the race is over and the road has been cleared, the Summit Road will be open for its normal hours for the remainder of the day.

Image- A runner competes in the 2019 Spring Up the Bluff event. NPS/Robert Wagner

04/23/2026

Our partners at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument are hosting a program with Artist in Residence Paul Atkinson this coming Saturday!

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument will host a program on night sky photography called "Making Art in the Dark" on Saturday, April 25, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the monument visitor center, located at 301 River Road, Harrison Nebraska, 69346. As part of this program, Atkinson will share his approach to night sky landscape photography and highlight works in progress created at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument’s during his artist residency. You will also hear about the growing threat of light pollution and how these threats can impact dark sky places. The program is free and open to the public; no reservations are needed.

Image - Paul Atkinson wears a mosquito net over his head at Everglades National Park. Photo courtesy of Paul Atkinson.

04/04/2026

Scotts Bluff National Monument will close the Summit Road to all vehicles during operating hours April 6-10 . Sections of the Saddle Rock Trail will be closed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. that week. The Summit Road and Saddle Rock Trail will be open to use by walkers and hikers from sunrise to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to sunset.

Members of the National Park Service Geologic Hazards Division will be assessing geologic hazards along the Summit Road and Saddle Rock Trail. These closures are to ensure the safety of the team members while they work.

The historic Summit Road and Saddle Rock Trail frequently experience rock falls and debris accumulation due to the soft and erodible nature of the rock that forms the bluffs. To address these ongoing issues, the monument has requested technical assistance from National Park Service and Federal Highways geology experts.

Image- A vehicle approaches the summit of Scotts Bluff on the Summit Road. NPS/Eric Grunwald

03/04/2026

The Scotts Bluff Summit Road is currently CLOSED to all use (driving, hiking, bicycling) due to rockfall hazard. The road will reopen when hazards have been cleared.

Update: The Summit Road has reopened!

Image- A vehicle drives towards the summit of Scotts Bluff during the summer of 2024. NPS/Eric Grunwald

02/26/2026

As emigrants progressed farther west they discovered that they brought too much with them. '49er Lewis Shutterly commented several times on having to ditch unwanted items and equipment. While at Deer Creek, present day Wyoming west of Ft. Laramie, he wrote "…we found a great quantity of bacon beans rice sausage gun barrels crow bars clothes and other valuable property thrown out in order to lighten their loads, at almost every camp from [Ft. Kearny] we seen the same amounting to tons of bacon with other things in proportion also wagons harness etc in fact sufficient of everything for a thousand emigrants.”

Shutterly's own company tossed 300 pounds of bacon and sold off 400 pounds of flour for cheap in an effort to cut weight. This tendency to overpack was very common, much like today.

A chalk pastel from July 1849 by Joseph Goldsborough Bruff titled "N. fork of Platte, W. of Fort Laramie," gives us a good feel for some of the terrain emigrants began to encounter west of Ft. Laramie, near modern Guernsey, Wyoming. Image courtesy of The Huntington Library.